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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24826843">Locations</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/CryptidBae/pseuds/CryptidBae'>CryptidBae</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Horizon: Zero Dawn (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Aloy is a good friend, Avad is a good brother, Bandit Camps - freeform, Bisexual Male Character, Canon divergence - Bastard Prince Nil, Canon-Typical Behavior, Canon-Typical Violence, Developing Relationship, Graphic descriptions of male genitalia, Homosexual relationship, Hunters &amp; Hunting, Itamen is babey, M/M, Machines - Freeform, Male Friendship, Male-Female Friendship, Mild descriptions of afab genitalia, Nil is his usual unhinged self, One Shot Collection, POV Male Character, Platonic Female/Female Relationships, Post-Canon, Pre-Relationship, Sexual Tension, Trans Character, Trans Male Character, Vanasha is Vanasha, but he's also a simp, mild burn, which is basically slow burn for impatient people</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 04:01:04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,843</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24826843</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/CryptidBae/pseuds/CryptidBae</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A One Shot collection of Janeva and Nil's developing relationship through places they've run into each other at.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Nil/Janeva (Horizon: zero dawn)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Locations</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Please keep in mind that English is not my first language. That said, I will make sure there are as little mistakes as possible, but some I might not notice so bear with me.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ashes fell like snow over the streets of Meridian. Grey and orange covered the usually cream-colored rock paths, bodies and boulders littered his surroundings, the smell of blood and Oseram gunpowder mingled together in the air– it was a sight Nil would consider worthy of his most sincere awe if only the cause wasn't that the eclipse succeeded at blasting their way through the gates, and through them, with the help of their corrupted machines.</p><p>Nil coughed as smoke and dust once again filled his lungs when he tried to regain his breath. It was a breathtaking sight still, but for the wrong reasons. His head pounded as he attempted to blink away the dark spots taking over his vision– it was unsuccessful, so Nil was left with no option but to hope that the smoke nor the collapsing structures would bring him death once the darkness consumed his vision fully.</p><p>But that didn't happen.</p><p>He didn't lose consciousness, neither did he start to go numb– at least not long enough for his dizzy mind to realize. Nil blinked slowly, eyes staying closed for far too long, and the next thing he knew was that his cheek stung, his lightheaded self rationalized that the breeze blew a still lit ash his way and it landed on his cheek. But then it happened again, and his senses were sharp enough now to realize that what impacted against his face wasn't tiny ash, but an open hand.</p><p>Nil's eyes opened and he was welcomed back to the world of the living by a person he recognized. A man whose hands were clutching Nil's vest, shaking him frantically, and who's voice sounded far away to Nil despite him visibly screaming only inches away from his face.</p><p>Janeva's hand raised again to slap him and Nil's moved mechanically. Months of hunting bandits kept his muscle memory sharp even after years since his last big battle or proper soldier training, so it wasn't necessary for him to be fully conscious to reach out and get a hold of Janeva's wrist to stop him from striking again. The pad of his thumb touched the nail of his middle finger and for brief but wonderful seconds, Nil marveled in how perfectly he could wrap his hand around Janeva's wrist. So perfect that if the soldier– no, not soldier anymore, right? Sunstress told him Janeva was the warden now. A waste of potential, but a title that Nil would address properly, even if only in his mind– if the warden so wished, he could probably cut it and wear it like a bracelet. Nil had been witness and victim of Janeva's tendencies to injure the limbs of those who dared to cross him back at Sunstone Rock, but he doubted he'd consider using said limbs to accessorize.</p><p>Nil snapped back to reality when Janeva yanked his hand free from his hold, saying something through gritted teeth that Nil didn't quite get but he was almost certain was an insult– whether it was directed at him or at the situation would remain a mystery. He remembered then what was going on and propped himself up on his elbows, trying to sit up from where he'd landed after the Deathbringer's blast barely missed him.</p><p>He flinched when Janeva's hand moved once again, bracing himself to be slapped again. But that didn't happen. Instead, Nil found Janeva's hand on his chest, persistent yet gentle in a harsh way, pushing him to lie back down. It reminded Nil of a time where they'd been in a position similar to this one, but instead of Janeva's hand on his chest, it was the warden's knee pinning him to the ground while his hand held a blade to Nil's throat.</p><p>Nil challenged him to a fight, questioned his honor, and not only did Janeva accept his challenge but won and almost killed him. To this day, Nil hadn't been able to find someone who got even close to making his heart pound like it had that day, not even watching Aloy massacre camp after camp did it for him.</p><p>"Stay down," Janeva demanded. How could Nil deny the wishes of such an aggressively determined spirit? "You were so close to the blast, how are you even still alive?"</p><p>"My survival is a slip up our enemies will pay for with their blood," Nil rasped out, the anticipation for the hunt —something many if not everyone who knew him would call bloodlust— lighting up the blood in his veins.</p><p>Janeva recognized the wild look in his grey eyes and pressed his hand harder on Nil's chest, then loosened it and decided that the wisest thing to do would be to get him away from the smoke and weakened buildings.</p><p>The armor Nil wore proved to be heavier than it looked despite how revealing it was. Nil watched the muscles of Janeva's jaw work and his hair stick to his forehead as beads of sweat left marks on his dust-covered skin when he pulled Nil to his feet, he wondered where Janeva's red bandana was– his knees threatened to buckle and make them both fall back to the ground and just then did Nil look down and get an answer to his question: the red bandana was wrapped around his left calf, stained with an even darker red spot. But Nil forced himself to plant his feet solidly on the ground, taking one slow step at a time until Janeva got more confident in his strides and started dragging him along.</p><p>He didn't take Nil too far, just far enough that he could take a long inhale of fresh air, which caused his asphyxiated lungs to ache upon receiving. Neither of them realized how much the smoke had been affecting them until the fresh air cleared their poorly oxygenated minds. Janeva lowered Nil against a boulder, collapsing on his knees by his side, lips parted and chest rising and falling with each rapid breath.</p><p>Looking around for any other survivors that might need help, Janeva spotted two guards about ten feet away from them, but the Nora man Avad had named quartermaster —Janeva heard Aloy say his name, but he couldn't remember for the life of him— was already helping them. So he made the shocking decision of staying by Nil's side.</p><p><em>To make sure he doesn't do anything stupid,</em> Janeva told himself. But truth was, with how quickly the machines and the eclipse had marched on dragging that corrupted thing and how deep the cut on his calf was, there weren't many stupid things for Nil to do.</p><p>As Janeva had this internal battle, Nil watched him. From the angle in which Janeva knelt beside him, the almost setting sun illuminated the left side of his face while drowning the right side in shadows, the pinkish-orange hues making that scar on Janeva's cheek stand out. Scars were something Nil cherished and carried with pride, proof of the many battles he'd survived and excuses to share the stories of the many lives he'd ended whenever someone dared ask about them, yet the sight of that scar on Janeva's face —one that had definitely not been inflicted by him in one of their many fights— filled him with the sudden urge to find the culprit and slit their throat open.</p><p>"You didn't have that scar last time I saw you," he pointed.</p><p>Janeva's head snapped back towards him, having those green eyes focused on him made Nil feel like an expertly sharpened arrow pierced all the way through his chest.</p><p>"Well, you didn't have that name last time I saw you," Janeva retorted. "Things change, Nil."</p><p><em>As dry-witted as always, </em>Nil thought, a bashful smile tugging at his lips.</p><p>Once again, Janeva's features were illuminated by the colors of the setting sun when he looked up. "Things are changing right now," he murmured somberly, green eyes focusing on something behind Nil. "For better or for worse, I'm not sure."</p><p>Nil stared at him for a few moments before turning to see what he was looking at. The spire, a structure all Carja —no matter their class— had grown looking at and respecting since the day of their birth, stood at the Alight mesa-like it always had and like Nil always thought it would– now he wasn't so sure.</p><p>Today, everything was possible.</p><p>He knew Sunstress was there, fighting whatever it was the Eclipse were trying to unleash upon the tribes, and as much as he wished to stand and fight it alongside her, this was an enemy she must fight on her own, for he'd promised to her that he'd stay back and guard Meridian– Nil tsked. How stupid he'd been to make such a promise that he now had to keep.</p><p>The spire lit up without warning, its light twice as blinding as the high noon sun, forcing them both to look away. The ground moved under their feet like the beginning of an earthquake, forcing Nil to hold onto the boulder Janeva made him lean against, hands clutching the rock until his knuckles turned white.</p><p><em>Things are changing right now</em>, Janeva's words from just moments before echoed in his mind and for once in a long time, his blood ran cold with fear.</p><p>Nil opened his eyes and looked down when he felt a hand over his own. Janeva's fingers curled around his palm, squeezing so tight it reminded Nil of a fraction of the pain he'd felt when he made the mistake of questioning his authority back at Sunstone Rock.</p><p>He managed to turn his hand on Janeva's grip, squeezing his hand right back. They looked at each other for what felt like an eternity, Nil wished it'd lasted an eternity, both of them asking a question neither had an answer for: Is this the end? But it couldn't have been longer than a minute because when the spire finally stopped glowing, the sun hadn't moved an inch from its previous spot.</p><p>For about ten minutes, it seemed that no one knew what was going on. People started gathering on their ledge, all staring at the same spot as if expecting the spire to grow legs and start making its way to Meridian to finish what the Deathbringers started. Hesitantly, people started murmuring that they'd won, and upon not being shown otherwise, those murmurs turned into cheers and then into cries of victory.</p><p>"Is that all?" Nil asked, feeling a little cheated.</p><p>"I think so," Janeva's voice reached his ears as a breathy, guarded whisper. "I hope so."</p><p>Nil scoffed. "I was expecting an explosion."</p><p>"Me too."</p><p>Janeva let out a low, breathless chuckle that escalated into full laughter as he squeezed his eyes shut, threw his head back and lifted his free fist in the air to celebrate their victory along with his fellow guards and the few civilians and foreigners who stuck around to help.</p><p>Nil's hand was still trapped in Janeva's vice grip and had long since gone numb. But he honestly didn't mind.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Leave a comment! Make it as long or as short as you wish. Comments encourage me to keep writing and I want to know what you guys think of my writing.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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